NAACP Legal Defense Fund : Defend, Educate, Empower

Eric Rafael González joined LDF’s Washington, D.C. office in October 2010. Serving in the new role of Education Policy Advocate, his work focuses on establishing equitable educational opportunities for all children through the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and other legislative reforms.

Prior to joining LDF, Mr. González served for five years as the Program Director at Directions for Our Youth, Inc. (DFOY), a New York City-based nonprofit organization that offers academic and social support programs to public school students. His role at DFOY also entailed working with students and their families to advocate for reforms to education funding policies at the city and state levels. Mr. González was awarded the Fulbright-Hays Fellowship in 2005, the Korea Foundation Korean Studies Fellowship for American Educators in 2006, and the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Fellowship in 2007.

Mr. González earned an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education as a recipient of the Urban Scholar Fellowship. His research focused on education policy and the identification of the managerial techniques used in urban public schools that closed or reversed the achievement and opportunity gaps between students of color and low-income students and their counterparts. As a researcher with the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University, Mr. González performed mixed methods research regarding the managerial practices of successful urban public schools. He also earned a master's degree in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where his research centered on strategies for using education as a fulcrum for community development. Mr. González completed his undergraduate work at The State University of New York at Purchase College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy.